Rhys + Caitlin got married at the Bendigo Botanic Gardens, right by the billabong. This was their original venue and they wore their originally planned outfits. With only us and 3 other people in attendance (their vendors!) it was very intimate. The whole day was very relaxing, with only loose timeliness with no guests waiting on them! They got ready together at home in the morning, hung out together after photos and then ate dinner together at home that night. It was perfect.
We went to the same high school in Swan Hill, although we were a few years apart. We connected at our mutual friend Emily’s 21st birthday party – Cate was dressed as a Furby and Rhys was dressed as Banana Man
Rhys proposed at what was our then half buillt house. He managed to choose the only weekend of the build when Tradies were there working and as a result he spent most of the weekend making excuses to drive out to the block without Cate trying to find the perfect opportunity to pop the question. In the end he had to work pretty hard to convince Cate to go out there, but clearly her answer was yes so it was all worth it!
We loved spending the whole day together and being able to just focus on each other. There was minimal stress because it was just us! We also loved video calling with our families afterwards to celebrate the occasion from afar and then calling some of our friends and surprising them with the news!
If you’ve had to cancel or postpone your wedding because of restrictions, and the back and forth is causing you stress, just tie the knot together and save the party for later. We absolutely loved our day and have no regrets, even though we still haven’t been able to have a big celebration with family and friends yet.
So many nice things to say about our vendors!!!
Sophie O’Keefe Photography – Soph wasn’t our original photographer but she jumped on board for us at the last minute and the photos she took for us were phenomenal.
Married by Georgia – Georgia worked hard in the weeks leading up to our wedding to get the paperwork all sorted. Our original celebrant was staying over the border in NSW so couldn’t officiate and the papers were here in Victoria so we were very thankful for the work Georgia did to make it happen.
Mitchell Barkman Videography – Again, Mitch wasn’t an original vendor for us but we were so pleased he was able to capture our special day so we could share the footage with our family and friends because they couldn’t be there on the day.
We could only have 5 people at our wedding with the COVID-19 restrictions and were so grateful that Soph and Mitch were happy to not only capture our day, but also be our witnesses.
Alium Dining – Alium weren’t actually open on our wedding day, but their chef organised a special menu just for us when they heard it was for our covid wedding. They went out of their way to make personalised menus with our names and the food was absolutely divine.
Platter Bank Bendigo – We were originally going to have a large grazing table for our wedding and were thankful when Platter Bank allowed us to put some of our deposit from that towards a grazing box to enjoy whilst getting ready and after the ceremony in between photos.
Marilyn’s Wildflowers, Proteas Direct and Mitchell St Florist – Cate put her own bouquet together using florals and greenery from these businesses. Marilyn in particular has an absolutely gorgeous range of Australian wildflowers in her Mandurang garden.
Mitchell Barkman Videography
Marilyn’s Wildflowers, Proteas Direct and Mitchell St Florist
Bendigo Botanic Gardens
Alium Dining + Platter Bank Bendigo
